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Do you ever find yourself sitting next to some very loud person or group of people at a restaurant or café? The kind of people who are so interested in what they have to say that they are oblivious to those around them, and speak in a tone that invites the whole restaurant to listen, since nobody else could have a conversation without shouting? My friends, do not waste these precious moments. I myself had the opportunity to learn everything I ever needed to know about European travel last night while enjoying my Fresco single serve pizza at an outdoor café last night. Thank goodness I had my journal to capture the voice of one very confident and assertive lady and her three companions who occasionally got a word in edgewise.

Lady 1: There is such a sense of Catalonian pride. They want to secede. They brought in sand for beaches. You go for tapas, the fish is swimming until ONE minute before you eat it. And there’s all this Jewish history there and this place Girona. We went to the beach. I was in my bathing suit, I felt like I was in my birka. Everybody’s topless! They’re experts at changing in their towels.

Man 1: The woman could be 18 to 70. It’s just what they do! Lots of gorgeous people around. AND, they ride bicycles. They’re fit.

Man 2: I had these friends who were artists, and they went to Barcelona to see the Dali Museum, and it was Monday and it was CLOSED.”

Lady 1: That Gaudi architecture was Ay-May-Zing. Oh, and the food . .”

Man 1: That Inquisition thing got to a lot of people.”

Lady 1: And Franco. He wouldn’t let them speak Catalonian. And they couldn’t meet in groups over three people. And he let Hitler practice bombing on them.

Man 2: That Hitler. He practiced a lot.

Lady1: Anyway, we get on the plane and we’re like SARDINES. Luckily, we both had aisle seats. My legs are longer than his, but HE doesn’t believe it.

Man 2: We went to Italy a few years ago and nobody told us that Alitalia goes on strike every other day. They had to fly us from Florence to this place where everybody speaks German.

Lady 1: I mean, they took good care of us on the plane. They gave us water. We saw FIVE EPISODES of House of Cards on the plane. Fabulous.

Lady 2: Here’s my question—we totally didn’t get that Robin Wright business. She’s such a nasty, power hungry . . Man 2: She didn’t mind when he had that affair with that little Chippie.

Man 1: You know what I loved? When that teenage girl dies from choking on a peach, the way he manipulated the parents. . . Smooooooooothhhh.

Lady 1: Plus, I saw SOOOO many movies. I saw Quartet, about three men and a woman who .

Lady 2: Is Dustin Hoffman in it?

Man 1: I saw shoot-em-ups. Like Gangsters.

Lady 1. They told us they were giving us $100 back because his TV didn’t work. Hah.

Man 2: There was this guy, pushing against my seat and I . . . “

Lady 1: We switched, I was hoping to sleep, but forget it.

Man 2: Some people put moves on their Ipads.

Lady 2: That one time we were only going to California . . .

Man 1: When my wife travels, she gets very holistic. She wants to see everything.

Lady 1: We’re gong from 9 in the morning until 11 at night. And, I like to go to the nice restaurants, I mean, not Michelin. I didn’t need that. But what I want to do is get NAMES. Like our tour guide, in Berlin, he told us two restaurants that were fabulous. We had Currywurst. It’s like a fat hot dog. They put ketchup on it.”

Lady 2: Gross.

Lady 1: It’s actually delicious.

Man 2: Those Europeans, they all smoke.

Prompt: At a café, restaurant, or party, capture a conversation. Get the rhythm of how people REALLY talk. Do their personalities come through? What do you learn from what they say?

Do you ever find yourself sitting next to some very loud person or group of people at a restaurant or café? The kind of people who are so interested in what they have to say that they are oblivious to those around them, and speak in a tone that invites the whole restaurant to listen, since nobody else could have a conversation without shouting? My friends, do not waste these precious moments. I myself had the opportunity to learn everything I ever needed to know about European travel last night while enjoying my Fresco single serve pizza at an outdoor café last night. Thank goodness I had my journal to capture the voice of one very confident and assertive lady and her three companions who occasionally got a word in edgewise.

Lady 1: There is such a sense of Catalonian pride. They want to secede. They brought in sand for beaches. You go for tapas, the fish is swimming until ONE minute before you eat it. And there’s all this Jewish history there and this place Girona. We went to the beach. I was in my bathing suit, I felt like I was in my birka. Everybody’s topless! They’re experts at changing in their towels.

Man 1: The woman could be 18 to 70. It’s just what they do! Lots of gorgeous people around. AND, they ride bicycles. They’re fit.

Lady 1: Oh. My. God. BERLIN. The sidewalks were so wide, there were bikelanes. Bikers everywhere.

Man 2: Amsterdam, that’s the ultimate bike city.

Lady 1: And Berlin had amazing museums. They had this museum alley.

Man 2: I had these friends who were artists, and they went to Barcelona to see the Dali Museum, and it was Monday and it was CLOSED.” Lady 1: That Gaudi architecture was Ay-May-Zing. Oh, and the food . .”

Man 1: That Inquisition thing got to a lot of people.”

Lady 1: And Franco. He wouldn’t let them speak Catalonian. And they couldn’t meet in groups over three people. And he let Hitler practice bombing on them.

Man 2: That Hitler. He practiced a lot.

Lady1: Anyway, we get on the plane and we’re like SARDINES. Luckily, we both had aisle seats. My legs are longer than his, but HE doesn’t believe it.

Man 2: We went to Italy a few years ago and nobody told us that Alitalia goes on strike every other day. They had to fly us from Florence to this place where everybody speaks German.

Lady 1: I mean, they took good care of us on the plane. They gave us water. We saw FIVE EPISODES of House of Cards on the plane. Fabulous.

Lady 2: Here’s my question—we totally didn’t get that Robin Wright business. She’s such a nasty, power hungry . . “ Man 2: She didn’t mind when he had that affair with that little Chippie.

Man 1: You know what I loved? When that teenage girl dies from choking on a peach, the way he manipulated the parents. . . Smooooooooothhhh.

Lady 1: Plus, I saw SOOOO many movies. I saw Quartet, about three men and a woman who .

Lady 2: Is Dustin Hoffman in it?

Man 1: I saw shoot-em-ups. Like Gangsters.

Lady 1. They told us they were giving us $100 back because his TV didn’t work. Hah.

Man 2: There was this guy, pushing against my seat and I . . . “

Lady 1: We switched, I was hoping to sleep, but forget it.

Man 2: Some people put moves on their Ipads.

Lady 2: That one time we were only going to California . . .

Man 1: When my wife travels, she gets very holistic. She wants to see everything.

Lady 1: We’re going from 9 in the morning until 11 at night. And, I like to go to the nice restaurants, I mean, not Michelin. I didn’t need that. But what I want to do is get NAMES. Like our tour guide, in Berlin, he told us two restaurants that were fabulous. We had Currywurst. It’s like a fat hot dog. They put ketchup on it.”

Lady 2: Gross.

Lady 1: It’s actually delicious.

Man 2: Those Europeans, they all smoke.

Prompt: At a café, restaurant, or party, capture a conversation. Get the rhythm of how people REALLY talk. Do their personalities come through? What do you learn from what they say?